Why Online Teaching is a Pretty Amazing Life Hack
I went back to the classroom yesterday for the first time in a very very long time (for me, that means it’s been almost a year of fully online teaching).
Oh, how I had missed every part of it.
Printing out my class rosters, putting on actual clothes and makeup to leave the house, the commute, smiles of new students as they walked in the door, writing my name and email address on the dry erase board, doing icebreakers in real time, answering questions when I saw someone had a hand raised, and the general rush of a high energy classroom filled with 30 students- mixed with the goal of getting through everything listed on the course schedule in the limited amount of time provided.
I had even missed that familiar dry throat and sore back from standing and talking all day long (that might sound strange to some, but that had been my normal for 7 years).
However, as I drove home in silence (too tired to listen to my audiobook) and flopped on the couch out of pure, but still happy, exhaustion, the thought that online classes really are the most amazing life hack started creeping in.
Then when my very extroverted husband laughed and announced, “And this is what an introvert looks like after a long day of talking to people,” it confirmed that I needed to write about this. As much as I love the classroom experience and what it does to inspire me, fulfill me, and scratch that itch to help others, I can’t help but admit that there’s a much better way to accomplish many of the same tasks that we accomplish inside the classroom.
Some college instructors may wholeheartedly disagree, but I can’t deny that online teaching is a pretty amazing life hack. Here’s why:
- Online teaching can save you up to 30 hours of work a week (no joke, maybe even more, I’ve done the math):
As someone who currently teaches at 3 different schools as an online adjunct (and can compare that to teaching at 3 different schools as a traditional instructor), I can accurately say that I save between 20 and 30 hours a week due to a number of different things: You don’t need to “get ready for class,” print papers, prepare lessons every class period, commute, go to meetings, get to class early and stay late to answer students questions, discuss materials for the class, and generally spend so much time lecturing.
As an online instructor you prepare your class one time (ever, when you’re brand new), and you never have to do it again. Sometimes the school and instructional designers even do it for you. You can record your lectures (optional), so you can provide students with a link (which takes just a few seconds), rather than giving the lecture repeatedly for every new class (and I know most of my lectures are around the 30 minute mark). Add on the time it takes to commute to 3 different schools, and you can see where I’m getting those 20 to 30 hours from.
Like I said, once you’ve seen both sides, it’s hard to deny that online teaching really is where we’re headed as a society that seeks education, flexibility, and efficiency.
- Online teaching saves mental and physical energy (in a big way):
Extroverts and introverts will both benefit in similar ways in this category, but introverts (like me) will feel a type of relief/relaxation from the online classroom that I can’t quite put into words (but I’ll try).
As an online teacher, there’s no need to think on your feet when answering questions (all conversation is conducted via email), or engage with 100 people face-to-face in one day (which can make an introvert feel like they just ran a marathon), or just generally “be on.” When you teach online, you can sit comfortably behind your computer, in your own home, and work/answer emails at your own pace.
This might be an accurate way to put it: After working 4 hours in the classroom, I feel like I’ve been awake for 72 hours. So much has been coming at me, from so many different people, with so many different opinions looking for so many different answers, that I just crash when I get home (although it’s a very satisfied, “Wow, I helped a lot of people today” crash). However, after I put in an 8-10 hour day working online (in leggings and a sweatshirt on the couch- always), I honestly feel like I’ve had a lazy day, and I’m generally refreshed, have quite a bit of pent up energy to spare, and I’m ready to go see real people when I’m done.
As for the extroverts, you might not feel the same contrast I mentioned above, but I guarantee your body will thank you, nonetheless. You can eat, drink, and use the restroom whenever you want, and you won’t ache from a long day of standing and walking around. Those are some benefits every personality type can appreciate.
Again, I’m not saying the traditional classroom isn’t worth the effort (like I said, I still love it, and I think I’ll always be torn over between which is the winner in this ongoing battle between old and new- for many reasons), but I am saying that online teaching is clearly much more streamlined with many of the same benefits to students, and even more for instructors.
- Online teaching offers flexibility and freedom:
While online teaching is still is a job, most schools just want to see that you log in at least 3 nonconsecutive days each week, check emails within 24-48 hours (except on weekends), get all your grading done within 7 days of the assignment deadline, and make a few comments in class discussion boards during the semester. All of this means that you can mix it up however you’d like. For instance, if I want to just log in to check emails for 1 hour on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and save all my grading for the weekend (for one reason or another), I can do that. It’s nice to know that I don’t have to physically be in a certain place at a certain time, and that I can make my own hours, for the most part.
- Online teaching can generally make you more money (especially if you’re an adjunct):
I honestly almost forgot this point, although I realize it’s a big reason people want to teach online. With all the time and energy you can save teaching online, you can easily work at a few more schools and make quite a bit more money in this new arena (for instance, I’ve doubled my adjunct salary within the last 3 years while simultaneously cutting my work hours from around 50/week to 25/week at a maximum). Since many traditional and full time instructors are more comfortable in the classroom, this means that online instructors are in demand, and each school you work at is willing to give you plenty of online classes to teach each term (which is not the case for traditional adjuncts, who may start out with a full load of classes, only to get most of them cut at the last minute due to low student enrollment).
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All in all, online teaching just makes more sense.
It might be uncomfortable for people to get used to this new way of learning, and maybe you feel that we should all be rightfully exhausted from head to toe after a good hard day of work, but I don’t know if I agree.
Having said all that, if you’re looking for pretty amazing life hack, try your hand at online teaching.
Happy living :).